Ling-Temco-Vought RF-8G Crusader

Last revised January 15, 2000

With the growing intensity of the Vietnam War in the mid-1960s, the US
Navy had decided to keep many of its smaller 27C class carriers such
as the Hancock, Oriskany, Intrepid, Ticonderoga, and
Shangri-La in operation. These carriers were too small to be able
to handle the Phantom, but they were able to operate the Crusader,
which was the primary fighter and reconnaissance aircraft carried
aboard these smaller ships. However, by this time, normal attrition
as well as the losses produced by heavy combat had begun to deplete
the number of available Crusaders serving aboard these ships.

In order to improve the capabilities and the longevity of the
Crusaders that the Navy still had on strength, and in order to keep
the Crusader operationally effective for a longer period of time, the
Vought Aeronautics Division of the (now-renamed) Ling-Temco-Vought
company was given a contract to refurbish and modernize existing
Crusader airframes. The letters G through M were alloted for these
remanufactured F-8s, with the letter 'I' being omitted.

The first remanufacturing program concerned the RF-8A reconnaissance
version of the Crusader, with 73 RF-8As ultimately being
remanufactured as RF-8G. They were rotated back to Vought for
modernization with a J57-P-22 engine rated at 10,700 lb.s.t. dry and
18,000 lb.s.t. with afterburner. They were equipped with the ventral
fins of later Crusader marks and were provided with improved
navigation and electronic equipment. In addition, they were equipped
with underwing hardpoints for drop tanks, and four cameras were
mounted in the fuselage reconnaissance bay.

The first group of 53 were refurbished from 1965-67 and the second
batch of 20 were refurbished in 1968-70. The Gs could be immediately
distinguished from the As by the presence of the long ventral strakes
mounted on the rear fuselage. The first RF-8G reentered service in
October of 1965. It made its first cruise beginning in July of 1966
aboard the USS Coral Sea.

The lifetime of the RF-8G proved to be much longer than even the most
optimistic projections had predicted. In the late 1970s, there were
substantial numbers of these planes still flying on active duty with
the Navy. Beginning in February 1977, a second upgrade of
reconnaissance Crusaders was carried out. Many of the J-57-P-22
engines of the RF-8Gs were replaced by more powerful J57-P-429
engines. New electrical wiring was provided and new electronic
countermeasures equipment was added. These modified RF-8Gs could be
identified by the presence of two large afterburner cooling air
intakes mounted on their upper tailcones, a feature which had first
appeared on the F8U-2 (F-8C). The modified RF-8Gs also featured a
round protrusion sticking out of the rear of the upper vertical fin
just above the rudder. This carried a radar warning receiver.

The RF-8G was ultimately to be the longest-serving US version of the
Crusader, serving long after its fighter cousins had been withdrawn.
The last active duty Navy unit to fly the RF-8G was VFP-63, which
relinquished its planes in June of 1982. The RF-8G flew even longer
with the Naval Air Reserve. The Naval Air Reserve units operating the
RF-8G were VFP-206 and VFP-306 and were both based at NAF Washington
DC, stationed at Andrews AFB. VFP-206 finally relinquished its RF-8Gs
on March 29, 1987, becoming the last Navy unit to fly the Crusader.
The last Crusader in Navy service, RF-8G BuNo 146860, was officially
turned over to the Smithsonian Institution the next day.

Rockwell International in Palmdale, California obtained two RF-8Gs
from VFP-206 and 306 after these reserve units decommissioned. These
were 144617 and 145607. They were used in support of Rockwell's
Advanced Technology Wing program. However, only 144617 actually made
any flights. In May of 1987, the ATW program ran out of funds, and no
further tests were carried out.